Batchman, College of Engineering dean, to step down next summer

9/25/2007 7:00:00 AM

Ted Batchman, who has led the University of Nevada, Reno's College of Engineering through a period of growth and achievement over the past 12 years, announced on Friday that he will be stepping down from his position on June 30, 2008.

Batchman, 67, will leave his position as dean to undertake another important job for the University: he will head a development effort as Founding Director of the University of Nevada, Reno Renewable Energy Center at the Redfield Campus in 2008-2009. Batchman said he hopes that after he completes his development work, he will then return to teaching as a member of the Department of Electrical Engineering in the college he has directed since 1995.

"It's been a great period of my life, and I've really enjoyed it," Batchman said. "I think we've accomplished a lot. It will be 13 years for me in this position this summer - that's a long time to be in a position like this, and I really feel it's the right time for me to announce that I'm stepping down this summer."

"Ted has had an outstanding tenure as Dean of the College of Engineering," University President Milton Glick said. "Under his leadership, the College of Engineering has shown great growth in many different areas. We are going to miss him as dean. But we are happy that he will be taking on this new role in helping to further the mission of Redfield's Renewable Energy Center."

Under Batchman's direction, the College of Engineering has experienced great growth. Since he became Dean in July 1995, enrollment has increased from about 800 students to today's 1,335 undergraduate and 300 graduate students. Research has grown from about $3 million annually to more than $15 million today. The college awarded about $35,000 in scholarships in 1995; last year that figure had grown to $302,000. Fulltime faculty gone from about 50 in 1995 to 60 at the beginning of the 2007-2008 academic year.

Programming and degree options have increased to include computer engineering, game engineering and environmental engineering. A new minor in renewable energy has recently been added. In addition, the college's Department of Civil Engineering is ranked among the nation's top 70 programs, and with its emphasis in the large-scale structures area has been at the forefront of a number of important projects with national and worldwide implications.

"We've done well," Batchman said. "We've been able to recruit a lot of new faculty, and many of them have been high-quality researchers. Looking back on it, we've accomplished a lot and it's been fun. I've really enjoyed working with the faculty, my staff, my wonderful group of department chairs, the other deans and members of the Academic Leadership Council here on campus, the presidents that we've had over the years, all of the members of our wonderful community of Reno and northern Nevada. And I've really enjoyed our students. I've always tried to maintain an open-door policy here."